Special Reports
German fish fashion
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Leather made from salmon could be the next big thing in the world of luxury design. Salmon leather has a lot going for it. It’s as strong as cow leather and as exotic as snake skin. This former waste product is now being turned into shoes, clothes, furniture, and even wallpaper. Susan Stone reports that salmon leather made in Germany is making a splash. Download MP3(Photo: Susan Stone)
The Numbers Behind the Olympics
When all is said and done, preparing for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler will have cost close to CDN $6 billion. (About $5.6 billion in U.S. dollars.) And that’s just the price tag to get everything built, before the Games begin. The World’s Jason Margolis visits British Columbia to look at how the Winter Games have economically impacted the Canadian province.
Violins – made in China
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China now makes 70% of the world’s violins. And the quality at the top-end is quite good. In fact, it’s making Italian violin makers nervous. In today’s Global Hit, Mary Kay Magistad checks out China’s violins. (Photo:Mary Kay Magistad) Download MP3
Retirement in India
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While retirement homes for the elderly are commonplace in the US, they are a new, and growing, phenomenon in India. Reporter Elliot Hannon visits one of the newly constructed Indian retirement communities to see who’s moving in. Download MP3
Mexican Mennonites
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The northern Mexican State of Chihuahua is one of Mexico’s most violent, riven by almost daily murders, kidnappings and armed robberies linked to Mexico’s drug trade. But Christian Mennonites, who above all are pacifists, are also a part of the state’s tapestry. The World’s Lorne Matalon traveled to Chihuahua to meet some of them.Download MP3
Lorne Matalon’s Mexico Stories
Lorne Matalon has been reporting from Mexico for The World since November 2007. He has covered the Mexican ‘war on drugs’ from the frontlines, going on patrol with the Mexican armed forces. Lorne also covered immigration and economic stories from south of the border. He has also reported from Venezuela for The World.
Copenhagen climate conference
China and Indonesia have hailed the Copenhagen UN climate summit outcome, despite its cool reception from aid agencies and campaigners. President Obama defended the accord he helped broker with China and other main powers. The non-binding pact, called the Copenhagen Accord, was not adopted by consensus at the UN climate summit in Denmark.
Climate change in Peru
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Deep divisions between rich and poor nations are threatening to derail the negotiations at the climate summit in Copenhagen. The consequences of failure would have a global impact, from the world’s mountains to its jungles. Peru is a country that has both. John Beaupre tells us that the South American nation is feeling the effects of climate change from top to bottom. Download MP3
Challenges facing climate migrants
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Droughts, floods, and sea level rise caused by climate change could displace millions of people from their land. Where will these climate migrants go? The South Asian nation of Bangladesh is grappling with that question. Joanna Kakissis reports. Download MP3 (Photo: Ross Taylor)
President Obama’s Afghanistan plan
Special coverage of President Obama’s speech on The World:
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President Barack Obama has ordered 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan but warned America would begin to withdraw its military forces by 2011. World security was at stake, Mr Obama said in his address to the nation at West Point, calling for more allied troops. Download MP3
India’s Muslim community
One year ago, 10 militants arrived from Pakistan in Mumbai, India. They fanned out across the city to attack hotels and other targets. It took almost three days for the Indian authorities to end the violence. The Muslim community was terrified of a backlash, fortunately it never came. Miranda Kennedy reports on the lives of India’s Muslims in a three part series.
Electricity for rural Nicaragua
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Correspondent Eliza Barclay reports from Nicaragua how two American brothers tried a technological fix to alleviate poverty in that Central American country, and our Science Forum invites you discuss aid projects online with environmental engineer Anu Ramaswami of the University of Colorado in Denver. Download MP3
Raising Bangladesh
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Some of the countries most at risk from climate change are low-lying nations. And chief among them is the South Asian country of Bangladesh. Rising seas threaten to inundate this already disaster-prone land. But Bangladesh is experimenting with new ways to protect itself. One possible solution uses floods to prevent floods. Reporter Daniel Grossman has our story. Download MP3 (Photo: Dan Grossman) Surviving the Sumatra quake
Indonesian officials in West Sumatra say some villages engulfed by landslides after last week’s earthquake will be left as mass graves. A spokesman said money would be better spent on the living than on retrieving about 400 bodies believed to be buried under the mud and rocks. Some semblance of normal life is returning to the provincial capital, Padang. Reporter Ann Dornfeld visited a village near Padang.
Created in China
China invented paper, printing, the compass and the seismograph. China was among the first to harness fossil fuels, and map the stars. And then, about 500 years ago, it lost its innovative edge. Now China hopes once again to lead the world in creativity. In this five-part series, The World’s Asia Correspondent Mary Kay Magistad examines the history of Chinese innovation.
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